Ericson 27 deep bilge question

I bought my 1971 Ericson a year ago and was supprised at how deep the bilge is. (all the way to the bottom of the aft portion of the keel) There is a float activated pump way down there, and I don't get much water, but it is almost impossible to keep clean. It also seems a little scary to have just a thin wall of fiberglass at the bottom of the keel. Has anyone ever considered filling in the bilge about halfway? If so, with what?

Thanks for your input!

Art Hicks

Personally, I would consider a deep bilge a blessing. If you do begin to take on water, you have a better shot of it staying contained and not flooding the cabin. Also, filling it in would mean sealing the keel bolts, making your hull to keel joint tough to maintain.

I have a similar deal. My bilge is segmented into 4 sections, one way aft, two in the liner in the middle, and one forward. I put an oil absorber in the forward section, which works like a charm.

I found this a bit intriguing. I've got an Ericson 29, 1972 version, and don't have a particularly deep bilge sump. I thought the 29 and 27 were clones of one another. Also, my E29 has an integrated keel, (i.e., the lead is encapsulated in the glass hull), I have no keel bolts. Any idea on why there are such substative differences in two boats which I thought were essentially the same?

E27 deep bilge

Jwolfgra; This is very interesting. My E27 also has an integral keel, but the entire aft end of the fiberglass keel (about 12" long and 4 feet deep" is hollow and acts as the bilge. I can't even see the bottom without a flashlight. I was hoping to hear from some other Ericson 27 owners as to how they deal with this. I would think a 2 foot deep bilge would be deep enough to contain any occasional water that gets in, so I am planning on filling it in about half way and sealing it off with fiberglass and epoxy. Do you suppose a previous owner of your boat did the same thing?

Thanks for your input.
Art Hicks

Like many other boats with internal lead ballast castings, your model Ericson should not have "keel bolts", per se. There may be bolts protruding from the top of the lead that were used to lower the ballast into the keel section when the hull was under construction. It is quite normal to have a portion of the molded keel unoccupied by lead. This is a good thing. If you run onto a rock and start taking on some water seepage at the bottom of that keel, you want to know right away so you can haul the boat and get the glasswork repaired.

One of the best pump set-ups I have seen was the pump and float switch mounted on a board, that was then lowered to the very bottom of the cavity and then secured at the top. There was enough wiring and hose length to allow this. This was on a Cal 3-34. It worked great, and a small accumulation of water waaaaaaay down there never bothered the cabin sole. This is a huge advantage over boats with shallow bilges with no sump molded in; we have to sponge out every drop or risk having water migrate up into the cabinets when the boats heels going to weather.

Our type of design may be faster in some conditions, but everything is a compromise, as someone once said...

Fair winds, cold beers, and dry bilges,
Loren
Olson 34, Portland, OR

So i just ran into this issue this afternoon on my E27. I was giving the cabin little washdown (fiberglass sole) and noticed the bilge was full and the pump was not pumping. After pulling and cleaning the pump ad draining the bilge I noticed A LOT of trash down there. Since the bilge is literally as deep as my arm is long, its difficult to clean out. Does anyone have any tricks/suggestions to clean that deep? Wet-vac maybe.

DW, Wet vac for sure! Start w/ a clean container you never know what kind of treasure you'll find down there.

Bildge Pumps

I have two pumps in this space; one down on the bottom with an electronic float switch (1500 gph), it takes care of the small stuff (prop shaft leakage mostly) and I also have a second larger pump mount (3000 gph) mounted higher on the the small step by the actual lead ballast, it has a suction tube running to the bottom and is operated by a on/off switch. This larger pump is my just in case pump. I figure if the worst case happens the pair together will buy my some time.

And yes, the 27 has an integrated (enclosed) keel so no hull joint to leak...

Cheers,
Mark

so i finally got down to the boat with the wet vac . . . no treasure, just lots of trash in the bilge. There were two fairly large cracks visible, but there was no seepage. any thoughts on the cracks . . . maybe an indication of things to look for when I pull it out end of next week?

Where are the cracks? I am in dry dock right now and will take a look tomorrow.

Cheers,
Mark

Wet Vac care.

Devin, Assuming that in Mobile AL you sail in salt water, be sure to clean that Wet Vac with a fresh saturated water rag or a sponge to a fairtheewell. Rinse that paper filter and flood the hose too. I've used mine several times in the salty bilge and with a thorough cleaning after each use, she's still as good as new. Glyn Judson, E31 hull #55, Marina del Rey, CA

thanks Glyn. she's actually berthed in a river, but i did give the tank a fresh water rinse. didn't think about the hose or filter though. that will be my first order of business today.

as for the cracks the are at the bottom of the bilge. it may just be a paint issue

There are other threads on this board about filling in the deep sump:

http://www.ericsonyachts.org/infoexchange/showthread.php?t=4375&referrerid=1235

This person even added 100 Lbs of lead, at the very bottom, then filled in with about 60Lbs of hydraulic cement up to 8" below the top of the keel (and was very pleased with the results). I can see the pro's of filling in this space, because if you do hit anything that breaches the aft end of the keel, you don't take on water and risk sinking (I've seen photos of some damage caused by striking an object in a hollow-sumped Ericson, and the torn glass in this area was frighteningly substantial). The cons are that you change the design ballast (which could be a pro if you want to stiffen the boat), but I can't image 160Lbs would make a huge difference.

Personally, I think the hollow sump presents a risk, and I wouldn't mind a little more ballast to stiffen the boat. I'm still on the fence though. I'd like to hear strong opinions one way or the other.